FIR against Amar Singh, Amitabh raises heat in Uttar Pradesh

With the FIR filed against Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh and actor Amitabh Bachchan snowballing into a point of confrontation with the Mayawati government, party president Mulayam Singh on Friday sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention.

(The FIR was filed on the basis of a complaint by one Shivakant Tripathi at the Babupurwa police station in Kanpur late on Thursday, naming Mr. Amar Singh, Mr. Bachchan and others under Sections 420, 467, 471 and 120 B of the Indian Penal Code, Sections 7,8,9,10 and 13 (1) (C) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 3/4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.)

Mr. Mulayam Singh told journalists here that the Mayawati government was on a ‘witch-hunt’ and out to tarnish the reputation of Mr. Amar Singh and Mr. Bachchan.

He said issues relating to companies are dealt with by the Union Finance Ministry and not the State government. He alleged that the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister was behind the FIR and dared her to arrest Mr. Amar Singh and Mr. Bachchan.

Mr. Mulayam Singh demanded strict action against those who were conspiring against the Samajwadi Party leaders. He said Mr. Bachchan is an eminent personality who had won several honours in the country and abroad and Mr. Amar Singh was a veteran politician.

The Samajwadi Party general secretary has been charged with money laundering and committing alleged financial fraud worth crores of rupees while he was chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Development Council during the Mulayam Singh regime.

The name of Mr. Amar Singh’s wife, Pankaja Singh, also figures in the more than 20-page complaint.

The complainant has accused Mr. Amar Singh of misusing his official position from 2003 to 2008 and has alleged that the SP general secretary along with his wife amassed more than Rs. 500 crore through wrongful means. Mr. Singh has been accused of taking commission from the crores of rupees worth contracts given to his acquaintances during his stint as the UPDC chairman.

Mr. Tripathi has alleged that the accused got small firms merged with big companies for alleged personal gains. The FIR states that crores of rupees were collected by one of the companies, Messrs. Energy Development Company Limited (EDCL) between 2005 and 2007. It states that another company owned by Mr. Amar Singh, EDCL Wire Project Limited had been handed crores of rupees worth contracts. The complainant alleged that 43 companies were merged with Messrs. Pankaja Art and Credit Limited and Messrs. Sarvottam Companies Limited and despite these companies being non-functional their shares were sold at a high price.

The other charges include amassing crores of rupees through the transfer of funds from one company to another, buying security shares without licence and investment trade.

Probe under way

ADG, Law and Order (1), Brij Lal told reporters here that investigations are under way and if the need arose the case could be transferred to some other agency. He said the report of the Kanpur police would be awaited before taking the next step.